Mr. Emil Pantelimon, during April 15th-28th, the Madrigal Choir and the Cantus Mundi Program are organizing the Madrigal Festival in Maramureș. As part of the series of events, performances of "Holy Week" will take place in Baia Mare and Sighetu Marmației. What program have you prepared for these events?

During this period, we are carrying out the program we discussed at the end of last year, and we promised our audience that when we reach a community, it will truly be a celebration. That's precisely why, here we are, kicking off in Baia Mare with the Madrigal Festival, where many beautiful things are happening. We opened the Madrigal Exhibition in the Butchers' Tower and started working on filming the video at the Memorial in Sighet, where Madrigal will perform and record a video for Vytautas Miskinis' piece "Pater Noster".In addition to these events, the Madrigal also opens a street exhibition featuring contemporary Romanian music in ancient universal spaces, the Sarmizegetusa episode "Flames and Wheels". Indeed, we have the "Holy Week" show, which will take place at the Holy Trinity Episcopal Cathedral - a performance that is staged for the first time in a church, with sets, actors, and everything.

Well, aside from these events, we will also launch the grand book of Madrigal in Baia Mare, and we will organize the "Madrigal for Babies" concerts, exclusively dedicated to pregnant mothers and children up to one year old, both in Baia Mare and Sighetu Marmației. This means celebrating in a city; this is what Madrigal understands by coming and presenting to the audience not only its 61-year history but also cultural products dedicated to various age groups. And here, I am pleased to announce that, together with the national Cantus Mundi program, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, Madrigal is organizing a grand gala with many choirs in Baia Mare, a Cantus Mundi Gala, as well as training sessions for choir conductors, educators and teachers working with children with special educational needs.

The artistic filming of the mentioned music video is currently taking place. How are the shootings progressing at the Memorial in Sighet and where will it be available?

The filming, which will take place at the Memorial, will promote the piece "Pater Noster" in a contemporary interpretation of Vytautas Miskinis' famous Prayer, and the shootings will occur within the Memorial, in the prisoners' cells, in the hallways, in the prayer chapel, and in the prison courtyard. It will be a very special moment, and this music, which you can also find on the "Holy Week" album, is one that reveals the hardships endured by the thousands of detainees who passed through the gates of the notorious Sighet prison. It's a very strange and, at the same time, interesting energy through which music, history, the past - which we shouldn't forget from the perspective of not wanting it to be repeated - is crucial to bring into the spotlight, and this will happen with next week's filming in Sighet.

We should also mention herethat accessto the events within the Madrigal Festival is free.

Indeed, in Baia Mare, access to all events is free because our main partner, the Maramureș County Council, and Visit Maramureș have managed to find resources to provide the public with these events.